Finally...some new cards!

Between working and helping Jill when I can, I haven't had a lot of time to make cards nor to post.  So I snapped a couple of pictures to share. These are some that I have made over the last couple of weeks.

This first card was one of two made for Chris' birthday.  This was my favorite and was the one made for Jill to give to Chris. I used a retired set called Fly Fishing.  It's one of the first SU sets I bought.  I don't have a lot of "guy" stamps, and this is one that I've just not been able to part with.

The patterned paper is from Parisian Breeze...so sorry to see the end of this paper pack.

I cased these cards from some fellow stampers.  They are made with patterned paper and the large scallop sizzix die.  

All of the patterned papers are from Stampin UP retired designer collections.  Sure is nice using up some of my stash.  

These are packed in a cello bag, tied with ribbon and sold at our store.  They complement the Hype Strype collection we sell.

Next I want to make some of the cards with the little Japanese dolls on them.  I really need to get busy on those before Becky's visit.  She loves things with an "Eastern" look.

Have a blessed Fourth of July - Celebrate and read Mark Levin's book "Liberty and Tyranny."

Mojo Monday Challenge

Wow...I managed to make another challenge card! I was beginning to think that perhaps these were a thing of the past for me. There's way too many things I should be doing on my Monday at home. Today, I painted some baseboards (should have been done months ago), washed the dishes, did some laundry, and...began the process of cleaning the grout on the kitchen floor...how gross is that? So, the Monday Mojo Sketch Challenge sounded like a good thing!
I used the Parisian Breeze Specialty Paper...it's on SU "going, going, gone" list. Baja Breeze was one of my favorite In Colors this year...I'll miss this one. Thanks to the Mojo Design team for another fun card sketch. Check out all of the cards here.

My card components:
Paper: kraft, baja breeze, Parisian Breeze Specialty, white
Ink: close to cocoa, chocolate chip marker, baja breeze reinker (with blender pen)
Accesories: close to cocoa ribbon, oval punches, flower fusion, CB folder

Happy Birthday Taylor

Today is Taylor's birthday...Happy Birthday to one very talented lady!
The layout for the card is today's cupcake challenge. A couple of months ago I ordered some stuff from Taylor's store, so I pulled out some of it to make today's card. The paper, ribbon and flowers are all from that pack. The image is from TE Sweet Spring. I cut out a party hat, added a brad and some "fru-fru" ribbon (I have no idea what that stuff is called).
You know what, today's Stamp Simply challenge is "half circles" so this card meets that challenge too.
That's cool...2 challenges.

Anyway, it was nice to be making a challenge card again...it's been a long, long time.
Check out all the great cards on Taylor's blog

Catching Up

Wow...it's been a long time since I've posted anything! I've not done much stamping, but I have been busy. One big project has been painting picture frames. The frog in the corner is actually stamped. That took a bit of work getting the correct amount of ink on the stamp. There has to be a better way. Anyway...he looks like he belongs with Bree out on that old boat. Of course this is one of Julie's pictures. Check out Julie's post here for more of Bree's "3 year old photo shoot."



You may notice from recent posts that one of the things I've been trying to do is use up some of the random things that have found their way into my stamp room. I found these containers and decided to paint them. The easiest thing for me was to stick with polka dots. I used rubber stamps for a couple of the sizes and a pencil for the very smallest one. Now what did I do with them?
I took them to the store and am using them as "props" around some of the gift displays.
I've also been working on bag tags...those have been fun!
And I am trying to learn how to use an Apple computer...well, really trying to learn photoshop.
Last weekend I went to visit Julie and she was able to show me some of her actions. Oh my goodness!!! I can't wait to try some of them. If you have photoshop or elements it would be worth it to buy Julies textures and borders dvd.

Clean and Simple Cards

Last Monday my friend Donna was finally able to come for a few hours to make cards. She recently went back to work, so it's been more difficult finding a free morning. We decided that we wanted to make clean and simple cards. Donna sells some of her cards at a local shop...so these cards are easy to make and the cost is lower because they don't have a lot of embellishments.








Most of these cards are a combination of cards I saw on Splitcoast Stampers. The gallery section for clean and simple cards provided loads of inspiration. We spent about 15 minutes looking through some of the samples and then picked out a few stamps we thought would work well for these cards. We made almost the same cards...just changed colors or stamps.


These are a sample of the cards Donna made. She actually made multiples of each and will finish them later at home. She will be adding a sentiment and perhaps a piece of cardstock along the top or a ribbon...or leave them simple...which looks quite nice. She also made some similar to the first 2 cards.






The last card is also based on a card I saw on Splitcoast...I think the original card had a bouquet of flowers. I have already given the card away. She should have received it today with "a little something." Hope she likes it.

So...Donna left 2 containers of designer paper and card stock for me to plan ahead for our next stamp day. She really needs to make some things with all the product she has...boy, does that sound familiar. The plan is to have a plan! Perhaps then we will get more accomplished in a short period of time...
yeah, right!

2 Challenge Cards

The sketch for the first card comes from Jen's Saturday sketch challenge. The card is for my nephew who turned 13 on Saturday. I know I'm a bit late in making the card. It's not that I don't remember these birthdays...I just remember too early and then put off making a card...then when I remember again...I'm late! I need a better system.
The sentiment on the card is from the retired SU set called Alphabet Soup (this set is one of the retired sets that I am selling).
Stamps: Alphabet Soup, Sanded background
Paper: baja blue, not quite navy, basic grey, white, not quite navy dp
Ink: not quite navy and going grey SU markers
Accessories: punches
I made this card for a friend using the mojo monday sketch. Papers: white, baja blue, Parisian Breeze Specialty paper. Ink: Not quite navy, baja blue, SU markers (not quite navy), reinkers (baja blue and kiwi kiss) with blender pens
Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Cheep Talk, Think Happy Thoughts
Accessories: grey satin ribbon, punches, ice brads

Yummy Bunny

I didn't think I would have the time to make a card for Taylor's sketch challenge this week, but thanks to Jill I had an excuse to make this one. She needs a card for her nephew and everything I've made so far has too much "girl" stuff on it. So I took out TE's Sweet Spring set and chose the cuppie and bunny and used lots of blue. The bunny and little boy blue cuppie were both colored with SU markers. I used a white glaze pen on the bunny's tail. I could probably add another layer of glaze and make the tail "pop" a bit more.
The background paper is from SU SAB paper set.
So that's it...simple, but cute.